It is doubtful that "art for art's sake" is Ken Livingstone's motto and, as Tessa Jowell, the minister for the Olympics and London, puts it: "You're not going to see him in the football stands every weekend."

But Livingstone is politically canny enough to understand the importance of supporting London's cultural sector, which has thrived since he became mayor in May 2000.

This boom in culture is evident across the sector. Last year, a record number of people – almost 14 million – went to the theatre in London, with ticket revenues rising to a record £470m.

The number of filming days in the capital has also increased, with a 42% rise between 2003 and 2006, acting as an economic driver for the rest of the film industry and for tourism.

In fact, some critics of Livingstone's approach to culture in the capital have been known to complain that he is most interested in the kind that has a direct industry effect, such as fashion and design.

Overall, it is difficult to discern how much of the rejuvenation of London's cultural scene would have happened anyway and how much is a result of Livingstone's input.

Evidence of his role would include the many diverse festivals, celebrating the multicultural character of the city, he has backed.

There was also the £7m contribution that Transport for London and the London Development Agency put towards the redevelopment of the South Bank, which is undeniably undergoing a renaissance, as well as last year's hugely successful London start for the Tour de France.

But the Greater London Authority does not have a large budget for culture compared with funding from other bodies, most notably Arts Council England, which will spend £536m in the capital over the next three years.

The mayor is clearly a figure of considerable influence and maintains a public profile - seen as highly theatrical himself, he is a natural performer who has regularly appeared on the satirical TV show Have I Got News For You and was once a restaurant critic for the Evening Standard before their feud began.

Yet at least as important in this decade's arts success story are high-profile cultural leaders such as Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum, Nicholas Hytner, the director of the National Theatre, Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of the Tate, and Jude Kelly, the artistic director of the South Bank.

Among the many cultural high points in the capital over the past eight years, Tate Modern's success perhaps speaks loudest - it is now the most popular contemporary art gallery in the world, with four million visitors a year.

John Tusa, the managing director of the Barbican between 1995 and 2007, acknowledges that the growth of the creative sector in the last decade is "quite extraordinary", but believes Livingstone's influence has been marginal.

"The powers are deliberately limited, the funding comes from other sources," he said. "He's not a terribly important player."

But the one area in which there is little doubt about Livingstone's impact on culture is his role as a driving force behind London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

The games, he argues, present clear and substantial economic and regeneration benefits for the city, particularly in east London, and will have a strong cultural element.

Despite the difficult debate over the rising cost and complaints from some Londoners about a proposed annual £20 rise in council tax, the majority of funding for the Olympics will come out of public pockets the length and breadth of the country.

Not everyone in the arts is overjoyed with London's Olympics win, which is expected to divert £160m from Lottery heritage and arts projects between 2009 and 2012.

This is especially controversial in the capital, where relations between Arts Council England and artists are already strained after the organisation's perceived mishandling of recent moves to cut grants.

In film, the mayor's formation of Film London, which promotes the capital as a place to make films and a source of talent, has contributed to the rise in the number of filming days in the city.

The film-maker Mike Figgis, who recently directed an ad campaign for Transport for London, urging the capital's inhabitants to be better behaved, said he applauds anyone who tries to make the city more film-savvy.

However, Figgis warned that a culture of independent film-making has been sacrificed in the process. "It's all business," he said. "You pay. Everyone is making money out of film-making, and that's not something that's going to fill a young film-maker with enthusiasm."

Yet Livingstone has also been actively involved in many innovative initiatives. These include a campaign to boost ticket sales among under-represented groups in the West End, and Lates, a popular biannual late-night cultural season supported by, among others, the British Museum and the ICA.

The mayor is also not afraid to speak out in defence of valued culture in the capital, most notably his vociferous campaigning against threatened cuts to funding at Battersea Arts Centre in 2007.

His support for public art is another area in which he has made his mark. The Fourth Plinth project in Trafalgar Square was actually established by the Royal Society of Arts in 1999, but the rotating exhibition of contemporary sculpture has had continued support from the mayor's office.

The most popular commission is probably Marc Quinn's marble sculpture, Alison Lapper Pregnant. Quinn, as well as Antony Gormley and Jeremy Deller, who are currently in competition to have their work erected among the square's pigeons, is supporting Livingstone's campaign for re-election.

They may want to back him because of his views on politics, rather than art, but their advocacy nevertheless shows that these artists see the mayor as being on their side.

What has polarised opinion is Livingstone's support for building skyscrapers. Last week, the Prince of Wales made a fresh attack on the "rash" of "carbuncles" that have pockmarked the capital – and he's not the first to complain about what the Guardian's architecture critic, Jonathan Glancey, called "Ken's old-fashioned, money-is-might towers".

But projects such as the Norman Foster-designed Gherkin and Livingstone's own stomping ground, City Hall, are seen by others as injecting much-needed dynamism into the city's architecture for the first time in decades.

To sum up, questions remain over exactly how crucial the mayor's role has been - but few could doubt London's emergence as a world-class centre of cultural excellence over the past eight years.

Livingstone must surely be hoping that the Olympics become a cornerstone of his legacy as mayor, although he would have to win both this year's election and the following one to be assured of the limelight as London 2012 begins.